The excitement of life...

The other day I read a quote that goes something like this: I'm determined to die of exhaustion rather than boredom. Then, I began thinking about all of the different opinions of what an exciting life would look like. Some people think its living it up, partying, being busy all the time, having a successful career, not being tied down, traveling, etc.

Today, I felt lead to share about what I see as exciting and worthwhile in my own life.

I am a Christian wife and mother. In so few words, some might perceive it as a boring existence. The world has many different phrases for it: "ball and chain", "tied-down", "waste of talent", etc. I think I've heard it all. :o) This is how I see it.

First of all, I have an amazing God who loves me, pursues me, gives me everything I need, and died so that I could live eternally with Him. He also gave me guidelines that would make life full of excitement and love, and help me to avoid certain forms of pain and suffering. As far as the pain and suffering that cannot be helped, He is there to give me peace and comfort. This all is given to me without me having to be perfect or even worthy. Now that's exciting!

Secondly, I have been provided with a soulmate with which to be "heirs together in the grace of life". An imperfect human, yes, but someone who is perfectly matched to me. Someone who loves me aside from my own imperfections. We get to grow together, build a home and family together, love together, and share in joys and sufferings. Its been and will continue to be exciting being his wife.

Third, as I've said already, I'm a mother. For some, this is all I need to say for them to understand the excitement. For others, they see it as only a burden. There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says "you are changing the world one little heartbeat at a time". If my life ends and the only thing I've accomplished is to raise children who love Christ and are of value in His kindom, then I've accomplished the greatest desire of my heart, and will be lacking nothing. What an awesome responsibility to be trusted with by the Creator! Plus, I get to spend my time with the most interesting, funny, spontaneous people I know. Sure, it involves sacrafice, but what worthwhile thing does not? "I'll lead them with strong hands, stand up when they can't. I won't leave them hungry for love, chasing things that I could give up. I'll show them I'm willing to fight, and give them the BEST of my life."

There are many more things that are special to me: extended family, friends, church family, card nights, interests, hobbies. Things that fill in the spaces. I understand that this isn't the only way to live. God gave wonderful diversity in our world. Nonetheless, it is definately one of the most exciting endeavors in the world, in my humble opinion. :o)

What's exciting in your life?

Celebrating...

This past weekend was a time of celebrations for our family. We celebrated America, the one year marker for Rachel being a baptized believer, and Rachel's 7th birthday. David's brother and sister came up from Tulsa. We had a birthday party on Saturday,

shot off fireworks on Sunday,

and went to the park on Monday.

The Lord blessed us with great freedom and a great weekend!

Good friends and nature...

This past weekend we spent a few days with some good friends of ours at their cabin. It was a wonderful getaway, and with one of our favorite families!

The great thing about this family is that their hearts are for their children, and we are very like-minded. We can talk to them about our ideas in living and child-training and they don't think we are strange. In fact, they agree with us on most things. Its so wonderful to have friends like this. In this picture are their two oldest children (they also have a little boy) on the left, and then Miriam and Rachel on the right.

Day 1 was all about getting there. We met our friends at their house and followed them to the cabin about an hour away. Then we unloaded. Anna (the wife) and I got busy making beds and situating the rooms while our men fired up the grill for chicken and corn on the cob. Meanwhile, the children had a blast playing out in the rain! They came in for dinner dirty, muddy, and wet, but had the time of their lives.

Day 2 consisted of going to the creek, collecting rocks, fireworks, and lots of 4-wheeling. They have large 4-wheelers, so each of our families (2 adults, 3 children) could each fit on our own, with the daddies driving and the mommies in the back. We explored much of their land, and the daddies drove very carefully!

Day 3 was short, as we had to leave in the morning. So the mommies got beds stripped, breakfast made and bags packed, while the daddies got things packed up in the vehicles. Our friends left before we did, due to obligations. Before we left the cabin, David wanted to take one last trip on the 4-wheeler. He took us up to a look-out point, where you could see for miles. It was breath-taking. So we worshipped on a mountain top the God of all the nature we saw.

After the cabin, our family headed up to Jefferson City. David had a conference Monday and Tuesday for work (he's a Professional Electrical Engineer). After Monday's portion of the conference we took an outing to see the capital building and governor's mansion. The girls loved seeing and learning about it our state's governmental history. They especially liked the garden area outside of the mansion. One thing that we thought was great was a large stone displaying the 10 Commandments. There are a lot of states where you wouldn't see something like that in the capital.

Next, we went to Culver's for some ice cream, and back to the hotel for swimming! Rachel had a great time learning to swim without her arm floats. Hannah learned how to float with the arm floats independent of mom or dad (we were always right there next to her). Miriam was afraid to swim, even with the arm floats. Its understandable since its only been 8 months since her drowning incident. We are praying she will be able to overcome that fear, eventually.

The next day, David had the second part of his conference, and since we had separate vehicles, the girls and I headed home. But before actually going home, we HAD to stop in Osage Beach for some outlet shopping!!

It was a fun little vacation, and we are so glad for the blessings and opportunities we had for fellowship, learning, and just plain FUN!

Introduction...

My name is Sarah and I'm a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom. I have a wonderful husband named David and three beautiful daughters (Rachel, Miriam, Hannah). We are expecting Baby 4 at the end of October.

As a family we seek to serve the Lord Jesus Christ with our lives. We love our church family at Wildwood, and several friends who live out-of-town who bless us with fellowship and advice. We are all about breaking away from the mold of the world, and raising our children by biblical standards. (Duet. 6)

We've lived out in the country on our own land for about a year now, and love it! We have done a garden this year for the first time. We are learning a lot and hope to have a bigger one next year. We also have a goal over the next few years to begin raising chickens for eggs and meat, and goats for milk. We are on a journey toward a more healthy lifestyle, and I hope to share what I learn on here from time to time.

As for myself, my interests right now are crochet, sewing, gardening, cooking, child-training, homeschooling and women's ministry for girls and young ladies. I love learning! I have studied or am still studying about herbs and nutrition, being a doula, and homesteading. And, of course, I'm always learning more about the amazing God that we serve.